Summary On the morning of 13 May 1999, the passenger vessel CANADIAN EMPRESS was upbound in Lynch Channel on Lake Saint-Louis in clear weather. The vessel was under the conduct of the master, with 48 passengers and 14 crew on board. Shortly after the vessel rounded the northern end of Dowker Island, on a heading of approximately southwest by west, an unusual rumbling sound was heard. The various compartments were verified visually and sounded; there was no ingress of water. The vessel continued on to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue wharf where divers proceeded with an underwater inspection; the vessel's keel coolers on the starboard side had been damaged beyond repair. A bypass arrangement in the engine room was subsequently installed that allowed cooling of the starboard-side machinery by way of the port-side keel coolers. On 14 May 1999, once the bypass was completed, the vessel continued on her voyage up the Ottawa River without incident. Ce rapport est galement disponible en franais. Other Factual Information The CANADIAN EMPRESS is a small passenger vessel of aluminum construction, with a crew of 14, capable of embarking a maximum of 66 passengers. Built in 1981 to maximum Rideau Canal dimensions, the vessel has since offered cruises throughout the Thousand Islands area, the St. Lawrence Seaway and River, and the Ottawa River area. The master of the CANADIAN EMPRESS held a Master Minor Waters certificate of competency. He had worked on this vessel for 15 years, the last 10 of which as master. The mate held a Master Minor Waters certificate of competency. This was his seventh year as mate on board the CANADIAN EMPRESS. The navigation team of the CANADIAN EMPRESS consists of a master and a mate who work together on the bridge while the vessel is under way. Alternately, one is at the helm while the other cons the vessel. Both can see the daylight radar screen and chart from their respective positions. The traditional four hours on, eight hours off watch system with a dedicated officer of the watch is not kept on the CANADIAN EMPRESS because this vessel is essentially a day boat and ties up at various ports of call each evening. The CANADIAN EMPRESS is equipped with a Magellan Chart Mate Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) receiver, but this receiver is not connected to an electronic chart or video plotter. With this model of DGPS receiver, as with many other models, a predetermined route may be entered, allowing the navigator to monitor the vessel's progression along the intended track. The possibility also exists of entering up to 99 permanent waypoints. The radar is a recent model three-centimetre Furuno with excellent capabilities for river navigation. At 0700 eastern daylight saving time (EDT)[2] on 13 May 1999, the CANADIAN EMPRESS, with 48 passengers on board, left the Cte Sainte-Catherine wharf bound for Montebello, Quebec. Winds were light, 10 to 15 knots from the northwest, and visibility was excellent. Water levels, however, were extremely low for this time of year. On Lake Saint-Louis, the level was 0.28 metre (m) (11 inches)[3] above chart datum, a full 1.17 m (3 feet 10 inches) below the average water level for mid May. The master was aware of the low water level because he had listened to the Coast Guard Radio Station broadcast the day before. After negotiating the South Shore Canal towards Lake Saint-Louis, at approximately 0800, the vessel proceeded out of the Seaway channel at buoy Lachine A and onto the leading lights of the small craft channel south of Dorval Island. The buoys that mark the small craft channel in this area were in the process of being laid for the summer season by the Canadian Coast Guard. Buoys between Lachine A and buoy AD-18, inclusively, were in place. The remaining buoys to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and above were not yet in place. The buoys that had remained in for the winter were unreliable because their positions had not yet been verified by the Coast Guard. Only three other buoys had been placed or their positions verified in the river above buoy AD-18 at this time. Above Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, buoys H-12 and H-22 had been placed, and the position of buoy H-2 had been verified. This had been done earlier in the spring following a request for an early placement and verification of these particular buoys made to the Canadian Coast Guard by the owner/operator of the CANADIAN EMPRESS on behalf of St. Lawrence Cruise Lines Inc. Navigation in these waters usually commences with the official opening of the locks at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and Carillon on the Friday preceding the Victoria weekend in May. Consequently, the buoys are not normally placed or positions verified before this time. Special arrangements, however, can and are made by several companies with the lock operator[4] in order to pass through the locks before this date. At approximately 0845, having followed the small craft channel towards Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue without incident, the vessel was now nearing the north end of Dowker Island and proceeding at a speed of seven knots. At this time, the mate was at the helm and the master was a few feet away on the starboard side of the wheelhouse. The master was conning the vessel using the radar to take distances off known points of land, and the mate was steadying the vessel on a heading of 233 (DGPS). No gyrocompass was fitted,[5] and although a magnetic compass was available directly in front of the ship's wheel, courses in the river were steered principally using the DGPS. At approximately 0849, the master was satisfied with the ship's position abeam a small, unnamed point of land on the northwest side of Dowker Island at the predetermined distance of 213 m (700 feet). This put the vessel in the centre of the recommended navigation channel, and the master was now preparing to come abeam the next point of land on Dowker Island at 244 m (800 feet). Before 1996, the centre of the recommended channel was indicated by leading lights at Madore Point, but these lights had since been discontinued. The master and the mate had made numerous trips up and down the river in this area over the years, both before and after the leading lights at Madore Point had been discontinued. (See Appendix A.) The depth sounder had been left running as a standard procedure, and as the vessel proceeded up past Dowker Island, the mate noticed that the water indicated under the keel was beginning to decrease. The last sounding he noticed, shortly before the occurrence, was 1.98 m (6 feet). At approximately 0850, after having steadied the vessel on a course of 233 (DGPS) and with the vessel just south of the charted position of buoy AD-38 (it had not yet been placed), an unusual rumbling sound was heard throughout the ship. The throttles were put to neutral at once, and the master took the helm, instructing the mate to go below and investigate. At this point, the master reportedly pushed the man overboard button on the DGPS to mark the position of the incident. Soon thereafter, at least one passenger observed that the waters astern the CANADIAN EMPRESS were muddied. The ship did not veer from the course steered nor was an angle of heel detected. None of the passengers was inconvenienced by the incident. Reports from the mate and the chief engineer confirmed that there was no ingress of water. The engines were re-engaged to stem the current, estimated to be between one and two knots, and keep the vessel in the channel. Seemingly undamaged, the vessel then continued on her voyage and soon was approaching the downstream wall of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue lock. At this point, the starboard-side generator was indicating an overheat condition and was shut down. The decision was taken to tie up to the downstream approach wall of the lock and inspect the underwater portions of the hull with the help of divers. The underwater inspection confirmed damage to the starboard-side keel coolers. The damaged keel coolers were removed from the hull by the divers and found to be covered with a clay-like substance. A bypass arrangement in the engine room was installed that allowed cooling of the starboard-side machinery by way of the port-side keel coolers. On 14 May 1999, once the bypass was completed, the vessel continued on her voyage up the Ottawa River without incident.